Skill shortage looms for Asia’s emerging economies

There has been a lot of news recently about the lack of talent available to employers. The ManpowerGroup just published their 2016 Talent Shortgage Survey where, as a region, Asia Pacific reported the greatest degree of hiring difficulties, particularly in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. A new report has revealed that Asia’s emerging economies face severe skill shortages. In the near future, countries will encounter a shortage of skilled labour due to less-than-adequate skills-based education and changing workforce demographics.

The report ranked 12 economies in Asia on a scale of 1 to 7 to indicate the level of skills challenges they face. Malaysia ranks highest among the emerging economies, with a 5, while Singapore and Hong Kong top the overall list with a 6.2 and 5.6, respectively.

Although advanced economies such as Singapore, Hong Kong, South-Korea, and Japan score relatively high when it comes to education levels, they in turn will be impacted by a decrease in labour supply due to a decline in working age population, leaving them with a potential skill shortage as well.